Sometimes it’s really easy to get caught up in how messy the world is. Sin, death, pain, and suffering seem to be everywhere. In my worst times I buy into the belief that the world is a chaotic place where everything and everyone is out to get me. I believe that if something can go bad then it will. What a way to live! No wonder I struggle with anxiety and depression in a worldview so bereft of hope. 

Yet, Psalm 23 shows us a different reality. It shows that in the midst of this fallen, sinful world filled with suffering and pain, we have a shepherd. We don’t have to get lost in the chaos, but can take refuge in the protection of a good God who causes all things to work for our good (Romans 8:28). The line that always jumps out in this Psalm for me is right there in the second stanza of verse 1 - “I have all that I need (NLT)” or “I lack nothing (NIV).” God’s got me. He takes care of all of my needs. I may think I need something, but in reality, God has never and will never let me down.